Retractable handle for portable television receiver



Se t. 12, 1967 J. M; PARSONS ETAL 3,340,563

RETRACTABLE HANDLE FOR PORTABLE TELEVISION RECEIVER 'INVENTORS'. JOHN M.PARSONS, FRANK M. GRUNWALD, BY M 52% Filed Jan. 29, 1965 THEIR ATTORNEY.

United States Patent 3,340,563 RETRACTABLE HANDLE FOR PORTABLETELEVISION RECEIVER John M. Parsons, Baldwinsville, and Frank M.Grunwald, North Syracuse, N.Y., assignors to General Electric Company, acorporation of New York Filed Jan. 29, 1965, Ser. No. 429,068 6 Claims.(Cl. 16115) ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE A spring loaded retractablehandle for a portable television receiver including a top member withtwo spaced apertures therein comprises a grip member and a spring strapmeans attached thereto; the strap means having two spaced elongatedslots therein. The strap means are passed through the apertures and areretained in sliding engagement with two shouldered members comprising ashank portion inserted through the slots and a head portion. In order toprovide a spring loaded handle in a retracted position, the shoulderedmembers are rigidly attached to the top member adjacent the apertures soas to deform the two spring strap means as they pass through theapertures.

The present invention relates to a carrying handle and more specificallyto a retractable carrying handle for a portable television receiver.

It is desirable that a handle for a portable television receiver beretractable to a position generally flush with the top of the receiver.Further, the retractable handle should be spring loaded in the retractedposition so that it can be easily and positively retracted when not inuse. However, it is also desirable that the capability exist formaintaining the handle stable in the non-retracted position to insureease of handling. These somewhat conflicting desiderata of springloading in the retracted position and stability in the non-retractedposition have not adequately been achieved by the prior art with therequisite simplicity and low cost.

Also, due to space limitations within the modern portable televisionreceiver, it is necessary that the handle require only a minimuminternal clearance either in the retracted or non-retracted position.

The present invention provides an improved retractable carrying handlefor a television receiver which is spring loaded in the retractedposition but which also allows the handle to be maintained in thenon-retracted position.

Accordingly, an object of the invention is to provide an improvedcarrying handle for a portable television receiver.

Another object is to provide a simplified and less expensive carryinghandle for a portable television receiver.

Yet another object is to provide a carrying handle for a portabletelevision receiver wherein the handle is spring loaded in the retractedposition.

Still another object is to provide a carrying handle for a portabletelevision receiver wherein the handle can be maintained in thenon-retracted position.

Still another object is to provide a carrying handle for a portabletelevision receiver wherein the handle requires only a minimum internalclearance.

These and other objects are achieved in one embodiment of the inventionthrough the use of slotted spring strap members attached to a suitablegrip member. The spring strap members pass through apertures in the topof the television receiver, the slot in each strap member being slidablyengaged by a shouldered member mounted on the underside of the top ofthe television receiver. The spring strap members serve to spring loadthe handle in the retracted position, stability being achieved in thenonretracted position by the interaction between the spring strapmembers and the associated shouldered members.

Further, the length of the slots is selected to provide automaticcentering of the grip member, the slots being of such a length as toprovide a desired clearance between the grip member and the top of thereceiver in the retracted position to facilitate the gripping of thegrip memher.

The novel and distinctive features of the invention are set forth in theappended claims. The invention itself, together with further objects andadvantages thereof, may best be understood by reference to the followingdescription and accompanying drawings in which:

FIGURE 1 is a sectional view of one embodiment of the retractable handleof the present invention.

FIGURE 2 is a perspective view partially broken away of the retractablehandle of FIGURE 1, the handle being shown in the retracted position,and

FIGURE 3 is a perspective view of the handle shown in FIGURE 1, thehandle being shown in the non-retracted position.

Referring to FIGURE 1, there is shown a sectional view of a retractablehandle in accordance with the present invention. The retractable handlecomprises a grip member 1 of such a configuration as to be comfortablygripped by a human hand. The grip member 1 might advantageously be diecast or formed from a molded plastic ma-. terial.

A pair of spring strap members 2 are affixed to opposite ends of thecarrying member 1 through the use of rivets or molded studs 3, thespring strap members 2 being provided with elongated slots 4.Alternatively, a single continuous spring strap member might beemployed, each end of the continuous spring strap member being similarto the spring strap members 2 of FIGURE 1.

The top closure member 5 of the television receiver which might alsoinclude a strengthening member, is provided with apertures 6 forreceiving the spring strap members 2. The spring strap members 2 extendthrough the respective apertures 6 and are slidably engaged by shouldered members 7 afiixed by any suitable means to the undersurface of thetop closure member 5. The shouldered members 7 extend through the slots4 in the associated strap member 2, the head diameter which extends froma shank portion of the shouldered members 7 being greater than the widthof the associated slot 4. The end of the spring strap member engages theundersurface of the top closure member 5.

The grip member 1 is raised by exerting an upward force thereon to slidethe slot 4 of the spring strap members 2 along the shoulder of theassociated shoulder member 7. In a preferred embodiment of theinvention, the spring strap member 2 also engages an upwardly extendingportion 8 of the top closure member 5, the portion 8 serving as a pivotfor the associated spring strap member 2 and providing a smooth surfaceon which the strap member 2 slides. The upwardly extending portions 8might be eliminated for a particular application by suitably chamferringthe edge of the slot 6 upon which the associated strap member 2 bears.

Referring to FIGURE 2, there is shown a perspective view partiallybroken away of one end of the retractable handle shown in FIGURE 1, theend not shown being identical to the depicted end. The grip member 1 ofFIG- URE 2 is depicted in the retracted position generally flush to thetop closure member 5. The spring action of the spring strap member 2against the shoulder of the shouldered member 7 spring loads the gripmember 1 in the retracted position. As depicted in FIGURE 2, the lengthof the slots 4 is chosen so that one end of each slot 4 abuts theassociated shouldered member 7 in the retracted position toautomatically center the grip member 1 and to provide the desiredclearance between the grip member and the top closure member 5.

The grip member 1 is Withdrawn to the non-retracted carrying position asshown in FIGURE 3 by exerting an upward force on the grip member 1. Thiscauses the spring strap member 2 to slide along the shoulder of theshouldered member 7. In accordance with an important feature of theinvention, the grip member 1 is stable in the nonretracted carryingposition as shown in FIGURE 3 due to the interaction of the spring strapmember and the shouldered member 7. Thus, the deforming of the springstrap member 2 about the pivot defined by the upwardly extending portion8 causes the spring strap member 2 to exert a downward force on theshoulder of the shouldered member 7. The downward force on the shoulderof the shouldered member 7 thus produced creates a frictional forcebetween the spring strap member and the shouldered member 7 which issufficient to maintain the handle stable in the non-retracted position.

Thus, the spring strap members 2 in conjunction with the associatedshouldered members 7 serve to both spring bias the grip member 1 in theretracted position and to maintain the grip member 1 in thenon-retracted carrying position when so desired. Further, automaticcentering of the grip member 1 is achieved and the desired clearancebetween the grip member 1 and the top closure member is obtained throughthe action of the spring strap members 2. Even further, it will beappreciated that the handle of the invention requires very littleinternal clearance either in the retracted or non-retracted position andis thus particularly suited for portable television receivers whereinextreme internal space limitations are encountered.

Although the invention has been described with respect to certainspecific embodiments, it will be appreciated that modifications andchanges may be made by those skilled in the art without departing fromthe spirit and scope of the invention. In particular, the spring strapmembers of the invention might be connected to the associated gripmember by any suitable means. Further, shouldered members having aconfiguration other than that depicted might advantageously be employed.

What we claim as new and desire to be secured by Letters Patent of theUnited States is:

1. A spring loaded retractable handle for a portable television receiverincluding a top closure member having first and second aperturestherein, said handle comprising:

(A) a grip member,

(B) elongated spring strap means attached to said grip member includingfirst and second slotted strap portions extending through the first andsecond apertures and having first and second slots respectively whichare elongated in the direction of elongation of said strap means, and

(C) first and second rigid strap engaging members mounted to the closuremember and extending through said first and second longitudinallyextending slots to slidably engage said first and second slotted strapportions respectively.

2. A retractable handle for a portable television receiver including ,atop closure member having first and second apertures therein, saidhandle having a retracted position and a non-retracted carrying positionand comprising:

(A) a grip member,

(B) first and second elongated spring strap members attached torespective ends of said grip member and extending through the first andsecond apertures respectively,

(C) said first and second spring strap members having slots thereinelongated in the direction of elongation of said strap means, and

(D) first and second rigid strap engaging members mounted to the topclosure member and extending through the slots in said first and secondspring strap member respectively to slidably engage said spring strapmembers,

whereby said handle is spring loaded in the retracted position and isstable in the non-retracted carrying position.

3. The handle defined in claim 2 wherein said first and second strapengaging members comprise shouldered members depending from theundersurface of the top closure member, said shouldered membersincluding a head portion having a width greater than that of the slots.

4. The handle defined in claim 2 wherein each of the slots has a lengthsuch that the end of each of the slots abuts the associated strapengaging member in the retracted position to automatically center saidgrip member in spaced relationship to the top closure member.

5. The handle defined in claim 2 wherein said first and second strapengaging members comprise shouldered members depending normally from theundersurface of the top closure member, said shouldered membersincluding a head portion having a width greater than the width of theslots as measured in a direction perpendicular to the direction ofelongation.

6. The handle defined in claim 2 wherein said first and second strapengaging members comprise shouldered members depending normally from theundersurface of the top closure member, said shouldered memberscomprising a shank portion and a head portion, said shank portion havinga width less than said head portion having a width greater than thewidth of the slots as measured in a direction normal to the direction ofelongation, said head portion retaining the shank portion of saidshouldered members in the slots.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,958,587 5/1934 Mitchell et al16-1 15 MARVIN A. CHAMPION, Primary Examiner,

D. L TRQUTMAN, Assistant Examiner,

1. A SPRING LOADED RETRACTABLE HANDLE FOR A PORTABLE TELEVISION RECEIVERINCLUDING A TOP CLOSURE MEMBER HAVING FIRST AND SECOND APERTURESTHEREIN, SAID HANDLE COMPRISING: (A) A GRIP MEMBER, (B) ELONGATED SPRINGSTRAP MEANS ATTACHED TO SAID GRIP MEMBER INCLUDING FIRST AND SECONDSLOTTED STRAP PORTIONS EXTENDING THROUGH THE FIRST AND SECOND APERTURESAND HAVING FIRST AND SECOND SLOTS RESPECTIVELY WHICH ARE ELONGATED INTHE DIRECTION OF ELONGATION OF SAID STRAP MEANS, AND (C) FIRST ANDSECOND RIGID STRAP ENGAGING MEMBERS MOUNTED TO THE CLOSURE MEMBER ANDEXTENDING THROUGH SAID FIRST AND SECOND LONGITUDINALLY EXTENDING SLOTSTO SLIDABLY ENGAGE SAID FIRST AND SECOND SLOTTED STRAP PORTIONSRESPECTIVELY.